Cyclic exotropia in a child

Cyclic Esotropia Managed With Botulinum A Toxin Injections: A Report of Four Cases and Literature Review

Cyclic strabismus is a rare entity and is unique in that patients follow variable but reliable time cycles where they alternate between orthotropia or "straight" eyes and strabismus, most commonly in the form of esotropia. Despite many theories on the underlying etiology and unique features of this diagnosis, none have been proven and its pathophysiology remains unknown. Four cases of cyclic esotropia diagnosed by pediatric ophthalmologists have been included in this report. The ages of the patients ranged from 10 months to eight years. The time duration from the onset of deviation to presentation to an ophthalmologist ranged from 1-52 weeks with three of the four patients presenting in the cyclic phase and the fourth presenting with a constant esotropia after a clear history and photographically documented cyclic esotropia for the preceding two months. All four patients were followed for periods ranging from one to four months to confirm their diagnosis or obtain multiple readings of the maximal deviation on the strabismic days before any intervention. The angle of esotropia when present ranged from 25 to 35 prism diopters and the cycle duration was 48 hours for all four cases (24 hours of esotropia followed by 24 hours of orthotropia). All patients were treated with botulinum toxin A injections to both medial recti, which resulted in an end to their cyclic deviation with excellent alignment obtained during follow-up periods ranging from 12-36 months for all cases. Cyclic esotropia is an elusive diagnosis that can be easily overlooked. When identified, classical treatment is usually extraocular muscle surgery targeting the largest angle of deviation. Many non-surgical treatments have been tried to no avail. However, in recent times, botulinum toxin A has been seen as a viable alternative.

Cyclic strabismus: what measured angle of strabismus should guide surgery?

Purpose: Here we aimed to describe seven pediatric patients with cyclic strabismus and report the outcome of their surgical treatment.Methods: Seven children with acquired esotropia manifesting in a 48-h cycle were included in the study. Four of them were boys, and three of them were girls. All cases had a large angle of deviation and associated suppression on the esotropic day and small angle of deviation with fusion on the other day. A complete ocular motility examination was performed for seven consecutive days. For all cases, we planned strabismus surgery according to the amount of deviation on the strabismic day. Postoperatively, the deviation angles were recorded at the first week, first month, and third month. Later, the patients were examined at 3-month intervals.Results: The mean age at presentation was 4.42 ± 3.69 years (1-12 years). The mean angle of esotropia at near fixation preoperatively was 36.4 ± 14.9 pd (prism dioptre) (20-60 pd) on the esotropic day. The mean angle of esotropia on the esotropic day at distance fixation was 32.1 ± 6.9 pd (20-40 pd). The mean follow-up period was 18.4 ± 5.5 months (12-25 months). The mean duration of esotropia before surgery was 11.1 ± 9.4 months (3-29 months). Following surgery, orthophoria within 10 pd was achieved and maintained in all cases.Conclusion: When treating children with cyclic strabismus, the best surgical results can be achieved when surgery is planned according to the amount of deviation on the strabismic day.

Role of Botulinum Toxin Type A in Cyclic Esotropia: A Long-Term Follow-up

PURPOSE

To describe two patients with childhood cyclic esotropia 8 and 9 years after they underwent botulinum toxin type A treatment to report its long-term outcome.

METHODS

Two patients with sudden onset cyclic esotropia aged 2 and 4 years were included. Botulinum toxin type A injections were performed on the appropriate muscles.

RESULTS

The first patient was a 2-year-old boy with left dominant alternating esotropia on a cyclic basis. His strabismus ranged from 25 to 45 prism diopters (PD) at near and distance. A botulinum toxin type A injection into the left medial rectus muscle revealed orthotropia at near and distance with a stereopsis of 60 seconds of arc (arcsec). During the 9 years of follow-up, he remained stable. The second patient was a 4-year-old girl who complained of double vision and strabismus. Her deviation was 40 PD at near and 35 PD at distance on a cyclic pattern. She became orthotropic with glasses after a bimedial botulinum toxin A injection. During the 8 years of follow-up, she remained stable with a stereo-acuity of 120 arcsec.

CONCLUSIONS

Considering the consecutive and recurrent deviations with surgical treatment in previous reports, botulinum toxin type A is an appropriate first-line option for the treatment of cyclic deviations, despite its limitations. The results suggest that botulinum toxin type A is an effective method to break the cycle in cyclic esotropia permanently. [J Pediatr Ophthalmol Strabismus. 2019;56(6):360-364.].